diff --git a/crates/vp_cli_snapshots/tests/cli_snapshots/fixtures/create_without_global_vp/assert-create.mjs b/crates/vp_cli_snapshots/tests/cli_snapshots/fixtures/create_without_global_vp/assert-create.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..ce324ed058
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/vp_cli_snapshots/tests/cli_snapshots/fixtures/create_without_global_vp/assert-create.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+import assert from 'node:assert/strict';
+import { spawnSync } from 'node:child_process';
+import { existsSync, mkdirSync, readFileSync, writeFileSync } from 'node:fs';
+import path from 'node:path';
+import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url';
+
+const [packageManager, mode] = process.argv.slice(2);
+const env = { ...process.env };
+const pathKey = Object.keys(env).find((key) => key.toUpperCase() === 'PATH');
+// Keep system tools such as Git, but remove every directory that exposes vp.
+const vpExecutables = ['vp', 'vp.exe', 'vp.cmd', 'vp.bat'];
+const pathsWithoutVp = env[pathKey]
+  .split(path.delimiter)
+  .filter((dir) => !vpExecutables.some((bin) => existsSync(path.join(dir, bin))));
+env[pathKey] = [path.dirname(process.execPath), ...pathsWithoutVp].join(path.delimiter);
+delete env.VP_CLI_BIN;
+assert.equal(spawnSync('vp', ['--version'], { env }).error?.code, 'ENOENT');
+
+if (mode === 'unrelated') {
+  const binDir = path.resolve('unrelated-bin');
+  mkdirSync(binDir);
+  writeFileSync(path.join(binDir, 'vp'), '#!/bin/sh\necho unrelated-vp >&2\nexit 99\n', { mode: 0o755 });
+  writeFileSync(path.join(binDir, 'vp.cmd'), '@echo unrelated-vp >&2\r\n@exit /b 99\r\n');
+  env[pathKey] = `${binDir}${path.delimiter}${env[pathKey]}`;
+}
+
+env.npm_config_user_agent = packageManager.replace('@', '/');
+const cli = fileURLToPath(import.meta.resolve('vite-plus/bin'));
+const projectDir = 'projects with spaces/app';
+// Reuse the local bundled-template fixture, without an external template download.
+const result = spawnSync(
+  process.execPath,
+  [
+    cli,
+    'create',
+    '@your-org:demo',
+    '--directory',
+    projectDir,
+    '--no-interactive',
+    '--no-agent',
+    '--no-editor',
+    '--git',
+    '--hooks',
+    '--verbose',
+  ],
+  { env, encoding: 'utf8', timeout: 210000 },
+);
+const output = `${result.stdout}\n${result.stderr}`;
+assert.equal(result.status, 0, output || result.error?.message);
+assert.match(output, /Dependencies installed/);
+assert.match(output, /Code formatted/);
+assert.match(output, /Git hooks configured/);
+assert.doesNotMatch(output, /unrelated-vp|Failed to install git hooks|Install failed|Format failed/);
+assert.ok(existsSync(path.join(projectDir, 'node_modules/vite-plus/package.json')));
+assert.match(readFileSync(path.join(projectDir, '.git/config'), 'utf8'), /hooksPath/);
+const lockfile = packageManager.startsWith('pnpm@') ? 'pnpm-lock.yaml' : 'yarn.lock';
+assert.ok(existsSync(path.join(projectDir, lockfile)));
+console.log(
+  `Created a project with ${packageManager.split('@')[0]} and ${mode === 'missing' ? 'no' : 'an unrelated'} vp on PATH.`,
+);
+console.log('Dependencies installed, code formatted, and Git hooks configured.');
diff --git a/crates/vp_cli_snapshots/tests/cli_snapshots/fixtures/create_without_global_vp/mock-manifest.json b/crates/vp_cli_snapshots/tests/cli_snapshots/fixtures/create_without_global_vp/mock-manifest.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..67f065589e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/vp_cli_snapshots/tests/cli_snapshots/fixtures/create_without_global_vp/mock-manifest.json
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+{
+  "@your-org/create": {
+    "name": "@your-org/create",
+    "dist-tags": {
+      "latest": "1.0.0"
+    },
+    "versions": {
+      "1.0.0": {
+        "version": "1.0.0",
+        "dist": {
+          "tarball": "{REGISTRY}/@your-org/create/-/create-1.0.0.tgz",
+          "integrity": "sha512-swwZCXG8RDBJNTmiw3zCOBCQx9bCg7wHqoW37aV7BgGYfBUU7n7c+efbSCg0+FpdLhgeUjEMP5IAO+8exmeFKg=="
+        },
+        "createConfig": {
+          "templates": [
+            {
+              "name": "demo",
+              "description": "Bundled demo template",
+              "template": "./templates/demo"
+            }
+          ]
+        }
+      }
+    }
+  },
+  "pnpm/latest": {
+    "name": "pnpm",
+    "version": "12.11.2"
+  },
+  "@yarnpkg/cli-dist/latest": {
+    "name": "@yarnpkg/cli-dist",
+    "version": "4.18.1"
+  }
+}
diff --git a/crates/vp_cli_snapshots/tests/cli_snapshots/fixtures/create_without_global_vp/snapshots.toml b/crates/vp_cli_snapshots/tests/cli_snapshots/fixtures/create_without_global_vp/snapshots.toml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..95771702ba
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/vp_cli_snapshots/tests/cli_snapshots/fixtures/create_without_global_vp/snapshots.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+[[case]]
+name = "pnpm_without_global_vp"
+vp = "local"
+local-registry = true
+unset-env = ["VP_SKIP_INSTALL", "CI"]
+steps = [
+  { argv = ["node", "assert-create.mjs", "pnpm@12.11.2", "missing"], timeout = 240000 },
+]
+
+[[case]]
+name = "yarn_without_global_vp"
+vp = "local"
+local-registry = true
+unset-env = ["VP_SKIP_INSTALL", "CI"]
+steps = [
+  { argv = ["node", "assert-create.mjs", "yarn@4.18.1", "missing"], timeout = 240000 },
+]
+
+[[case]]
+name = "ignores_unrelated_global_vp"
+vp = "local"
+local-registry = true
+unset-env = ["VP_SKIP_INSTALL", "CI"]
+steps = [
+  { argv = ["node", "assert-create.mjs", "pnpm@12.11.2", "unrelated"], timeout = 240000 },
+]
diff --git a/crates/vp_cli_snapshots/tests/cli_snapshots/fixtures/create_without_global_vp/snapshots/ignores_unrelated_global_vp.md b/crates/vp_cli_snapshots/tests/cli_snapshots/fixtures/create_without_global_vp/snapshots/ignores_unrelated_global_vp.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e714b295a6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/vp_cli_snapshots/tests/cli_snapshots/fixtures/create_without_global_vp/snapshots/ignores_unrelated_global_vp.md
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+# ignores_unrelated_global_vp
+
+## `node assert-create.mjs pnpm@12.11.2 unrelated`
+
+```
+Created a project with pnpm and an unrelated vp on PATH.
+Dependencies installed, code formatted, and Git hooks configured.
+```
diff --git a/crates/vp_cli_snapshots/tests/cli_snapshots/fixtures/create_without_global_vp/snapshots/pnpm_without_global_vp.md b/crates/vp_cli_snapshots/tests/cli_snapshots/fixtures/create_without_global_vp/snapshots/pnpm_without_global_vp.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..4cbd13eb54
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/vp_cli_snapshots/tests/cli_snapshots/fixtures/create_without_global_vp/snapshots/pnpm_without_global_vp.md
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+# pnpm_without_global_vp
+
+## `node assert-create.mjs pnpm@12.11.2 missing`
+
+```
+Created a project with pnpm and no vp on PATH.
+Dependencies installed, code formatted, and Git hooks configured.
+```
diff --git a/crates/vp_cli_snapshots/tests/cli_snapshots/fixtures/create_without_global_vp/snapshots/yarn_without_global_vp.md b/crates/vp_cli_snapshots/tests/cli_snapshots/fixtures/create_without_global_vp/snapshots/yarn_without_global_vp.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..4024e48258
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/vp_cli_snapshots/tests/cli_snapshots/fixtures/create_without_global_vp/snapshots/yarn_without_global_vp.md
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+# yarn_without_global_vp
+
+## `node assert-create.mjs yarn@4.18.1 missing`
+
+```
+Created a project with yarn and no vp on PATH.
+Dependencies installed, code formatted, and Git hooks configured.
+```
diff --git a/crates/vp_cli_snapshots/tests/cli_snapshots/fixtures/create_without_global_vp/tarballs/create-1.0.0.tgz b/crates/vp_cli_snapshots/tests/cli_snapshots/fixtures/create_without_global_vp/tarballs/create-1.0.0.tgz
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..b73b8ed8cd
Binary files /dev/null and b/crates/vp_cli_snapshots/tests/cli_snapshots/fixtures/create_without_global_vp/tarballs/create-1.0.0.tgz differ
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/migration/__tests__/prettier.spec.ts b/packages/cli/src/migration/__tests__/prettier.spec.ts
index c25167191a..408d49b55e 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/migration/__tests__/prettier.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/migration/__tests__/prettier.spec.ts
@@ -7,7 +7,8 @@ import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest';
 vi.mock('@voidzero-dev/vite-plus-prompts', () => ({
   log: { info: vi.fn(), success: vi.fn(), warn: vi.fn() },
 }));
-vi.mock('../../utils/command.ts', () => ({
+vi.mock(import('../../utils/command.ts'), async (importOriginal) => ({
+  ...(await importOriginal()),
   runCommandSilently: vi.fn(),
 }));
 
@@ -27,11 +28,13 @@ describe('Prettier migration', () => {
   };
 
   beforeEach(() => {
+    vi.stubEnv('VP_CLI_BIN', undefined);
     projectPath = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'vp-test-prettier-'));
     fs.writeFileSync(path.join(projectPath, 'package.json'), JSON.stringify(packageJson));
   });
 
   afterEach(() => {
+    vi.unstubAllEnvs();
     fs.rmSync(projectPath, { recursive: true, force: true });
     mockRunCommandSilently.mockReset();
   });
@@ -56,7 +59,10 @@ describe('Prettier migration', () => {
     ).resolves.toBe('skipped');
 
     expect(mockRunCommandSilently).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
-      expect.objectContaining({ args: ['fmt', '--migrate=prettier'], cwd: projectPath }),
+      expect.objectContaining({
+        args: [expect.any(String), 'fmt', '--migrate=prettier'],
+        cwd: projectPath,
+      }),
     );
     expect(fs.readFileSync(path.join(projectPath, configFile), 'utf8')).toBe(config);
     expect(fs.readFileSync(path.join(projectPath, 'package.json'), 'utf8')).toBe(
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/migration/__tests__/tsup.spec.ts b/packages/cli/src/migration/__tests__/tsup.spec.ts
index 7935beb699..b824b0f7d1 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/migration/__tests__/tsup.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/migration/__tests__/tsup.spec.ts
@@ -24,7 +24,8 @@ vi.mock('@voidzero-dev/vite-plus-prompts', () => ({
   },
 }));
 
-vi.mock('../../utils/command.ts', () => ({
+vi.mock(import('../../utils/command.ts'), async (importOriginal) => ({
+  ...(await importOriginal()),
   runCommandSilently: vi.fn(),
 }));
 vi.mock('../../utils/prompts.ts', () => ({
@@ -62,6 +63,7 @@ describe('tsup migration', () => {
   let projectPath: string;
 
   beforeEach(() => {
+    vi.stubEnv('VP_CLI_BIN', undefined);
     projectPath = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'vp-test-tsup-'));
     fs.writeFileSync(
       path.join(projectPath, 'package.json'),
@@ -80,6 +82,7 @@ describe('tsup migration', () => {
   });
 
   afterEach(() => {
+    vi.unstubAllEnvs();
     fs.rmSync(projectPath, { recursive: true, force: true });
     mockRunCommandSilently.mockReset();
     mockConfirm.mockReset();
@@ -96,7 +99,16 @@ describe('tsup migration', () => {
 
     expect(mockRunCommandSilently).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
       expect.objectContaining({
-        args: ['dlx', 'tsdown-migrate@0.99.0', '--yes', '--package-manager', 'npm', '--no-install'],
+        command: process.execPath,
+        args: [
+          expect.any(String),
+          'dlx',
+          'tsdown-migrate@0.99.0',
+          '--yes',
+          '--package-manager',
+          'npm',
+          '--no-install',
+        ],
       }),
     );
   });
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/migration/migrator/eslint.ts b/packages/cli/src/migration/migrator/eslint.ts
index 992a6e7e5f..bf9231d0e1 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/migration/migrator/eslint.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/migration/migrator/eslint.ts
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ import { compareReversed, isLessThanOrEqual, normalize } from 'verkit';
 
 import { ResolverFactory, rewriteEslint } from '../../../binding/index.js';
 import { type WorkspacePackage } from '../../types/index.ts';
-import { runCommandSilently } from '../../utils/command.ts';
+import { getVpCommand, runCommandSilently } from '../../utils/command.ts';
 import { editJsonFile, isJsonFile, readJsonFile } from '../../utils/json.ts';
 import { fetchNpmResource, getNpmRegistry } from '../../utils/npm-config.ts';
 import { displayRelative } from '../../utils/path.ts';
@@ -180,7 +180,6 @@ export async function resolveOxlintMigrateVersion(oxlintVersion: string): Promis
  * Returns true on success, false on failure (spawn error or non-zero exit).
  */
 async function runOxlintMigrateStep(
-  vpBin: string,
   cwd: string,
   migratePackage: string,
   args: string[],
@@ -190,8 +189,7 @@ async function runOxlintMigrateStep(
 ): Promise<{ ok: boolean; skippedRules?: string }> {
   try {
     const result = await runCommandSilently({
-      command: vpBin,
-      args: ['dlx', migratePackage, ...args],
+      ...getVpCommand(['dlx', migratePackage, ...args]),
       cwd,
       envs: process.env,
     });
@@ -219,7 +217,6 @@ export async function migrateEslintToOxlint(
   packages?: WorkspacePackage[],
   options?: { silent?: boolean; report?: MigrationReport },
 ): Promise<boolean> {
-  const vpBin = process.env.VP_CLI_BIN ?? 'vp';
   const spinner = options?.silent ? getSilentSpinner() : getSpinner(interactive);
 
   // Steps 1-2: Only run @oxlint/migrate if there's an eslint config at root
@@ -240,7 +237,6 @@ export async function migrateEslintToOxlint(
     // Step 1: Generate .oxlintrc.json from ESLint config
     spinner.start('Migrating ESLint config to Oxlint...');
     const migrateResult = await runOxlintMigrateStep(
-      vpBin,
       projectPath,
       migratePackage,
       migrateArgs,
@@ -259,7 +255,6 @@ export async function migrateEslintToOxlint(
     // Step 2: Replace eslint-disable comments with oxlint-disable
     spinner.start('Replacing ESLint comments with Oxlint equivalents...');
     const replaceResult = await runOxlintMigrateStep(
-      vpBin,
       projectPath,
       migratePackage,
       ['--replace-eslint-comments'],
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/migration/migrator/git-hooks.ts b/packages/cli/src/migration/migrator/git-hooks.ts
index d0de296d52..7273b40d4c 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/migration/migrator/git-hooks.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/migration/migrator/git-hooks.ts
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ import {
   SUPPORTED_GIT_HOOK_NAMES,
 } from '../../config/hooks.ts';
 import type { PackageManager, WorkspacePackage } from '../../types/index.ts';
+import { getVpCommand } from '../../utils/command.ts';
 import { documentationUrl } from '../../utils/documentation.ts';
 import { findGitRoot } from '../../utils/git.ts';
 import { editJsonFile, isJsonFile, readJsonFile } from '../../utils/json.ts';
@@ -460,10 +461,9 @@ export function installGitHooks(
     return true;
   }
 
-  const vpBin = process.env.VP_CLI_BIN ?? 'vp';
-
   // Install git hooks via vp config (--no-agent to skip agent setup, handled by migration)
-  const configResult = spawn.sync(vpBin, ['config', '--no-agent'], {
+  const { command, args } = getVpCommand(['config', '--no-agent']);
+  const configResult = spawn.sync(command, args, {
     cwd: projectPath,
     stdio: 'pipe',
   });
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/migration/migrator/prettier.ts b/packages/cli/src/migration/migrator/prettier.ts
index 15338951b2..f837621375 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/migration/migrator/prettier.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/migration/migrator/prettier.ts
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ import * as prompts from '@voidzero-dev/vite-plus-prompts';
 
 import { rewritePrettier } from '../../../binding/index.js';
 import { type WorkspacePackage } from '../../types/index.ts';
-import { runCommandSilently } from '../../utils/command.ts';
+import { getVpCommand, runCommandSilently } from '../../utils/command.ts';
 import { editJsonFile, readJsonFile } from '../../utils/json.ts';
 import { displayRelative } from '../../utils/path.ts';
 import { cancelAndExit } from '../../utils/prompts.ts';
@@ -61,7 +61,6 @@ export function detectPrettierProject(
  * Unsupported config formats are skipped; other errors still fail migration.
  */
 async function runPrettierMigrateStep(
-  vpBin: string,
   cwd: string,
   spinner: ReturnType<typeof getSpinner>,
   failMessage: string,
@@ -69,8 +68,7 @@ async function runPrettierMigrateStep(
 ): Promise<'migrated' | 'skipped' | 'failed'> {
   try {
     const result = await runCommandSilently({
-      command: vpBin,
-      args: ['fmt', '--migrate=prettier'],
+      ...getVpCommand(['fmt', '--migrate=prettier']),
       cwd,
       envs: process.env,
     });
@@ -109,7 +107,6 @@ export async function migratePrettierToOxfmt(
   packages?: WorkspacePackage[],
   options?: { silent?: boolean; report?: MigrationReport },
 ): Promise<'migrated' | 'skipped' | 'failed'> {
-  const vpBin = process.env.VP_CLI_BIN ?? 'vp';
   const spinner = options?.silent ? getSilentSpinner() : getSpinner(interactive);
 
   // Step 1: Generate .oxfmtrc.json from Prettier config
@@ -133,7 +130,6 @@ export async function migratePrettierToOxfmt(
     try {
       spinner.start('Migrating Prettier config to Oxfmt...');
       const result = await runPrettierMigrateStep(
-        vpBin,
         projectPath,
         spinner,
         'Prettier migration failed',
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/migration/migrator/tsup.ts b/packages/cli/src/migration/migrator/tsup.ts
index 7eff1306e4..d9e5846fe9 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/migration/migrator/tsup.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/migration/migrator/tsup.ts
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ import * as prompts from '@voidzero-dev/vite-plus-prompts';
 import corePkg from 'vite/package.json' with { type: 'json' };
 
 import { PackageManager, type WorkspacePackage } from '../../types/index.ts';
-import { runCommandSilently } from '../../utils/command.ts';
+import { getVpCommand, runCommandSilently } from '../../utils/command.ts';
 import { TSDOWN_MIGRATION_SKILL_URL } from '../../utils/constants.ts';
 import { editJsonFile, readJsonFile } from '../../utils/json.ts';
 import { displayRelative } from '../../utils/path.ts';
@@ -372,21 +372,19 @@ function extractTsdownMigrationWarnings(output: Buffer): string[] {
 
 /** Run `vp dlx tsdown-migrate` in `cwd` with graceful error handling. */
 async function runTsdownMigrateStep(
-  vpBin: string,
   cwd: string,
   packageManager: PackageManager,
 ): Promise<{ ok: boolean; warnings: string[] }> {
   try {
     const result = await runCommandSilently({
-      command: vpBin,
-      args: [
+      ...getVpCommand([
         'dlx',
         `tsdown-migrate@${corePkg.bundledVersions.tsdown}`,
         '--yes',
         '--package-manager',
         packageManager,
         '--no-install',
-      ],
+      ]),
       cwd,
       envs: process.env,
     });
@@ -417,7 +415,6 @@ export async function migrateTsupToTsdown(
   packages?: WorkspacePackage[],
   options?: { silent?: boolean; report?: MigrationReport },
 ): Promise<boolean> {
-  const vpBin = process.env.VP_CLI_BIN ?? 'vp';
   const spinner = options?.silent ? getSilentSpinner() : getSpinner(interactive);
 
   // A tsup config isn't necessarily workspace-wide the way an ESLint flat
@@ -491,7 +488,7 @@ export async function migrateTsupToTsdown(
     for (const target of tsupTargets) {
       const targetLabel =
         target === rootPath ? 'the project root' : displayRelative(target, projectPath);
-      const migrateResult = await runTsdownMigrateStep(vpBin, target, packageManager);
+      const migrateResult = await runTsdownMigrateStep(target, packageManager);
       if (!migrateResult.ok) {
         spinner.stop();
         const restoreFailures = restoreTsupMigrationTargets(snapshots);
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/utils/__tests__/run-vite-install.spec.ts b/packages/cli/src/utils/__tests__/run-vite-install.spec.ts
index 087ade72c9..65b91fc574 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/utils/__tests__/run-vite-install.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/utils/__tests__/run-vite-install.spec.ts
@@ -1,8 +1,9 @@
-import { beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest';
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest';
 
 import { PackageManager } from '../../types/index.ts';
 
-vi.mock('../command.ts', () => ({
+vi.mock(import('../command.ts'), async (importOriginal) => ({
+  ...(await importOriginal()),
   runCommandSilently: vi.fn(),
 }));
 
@@ -18,7 +19,19 @@ function installResult(exitCode: number, stdout = '', stderr = '') {
 describe('runViteInstall with detectIgnoredBuilds', () => {
   beforeEach(() => {
     mockRun.mockReset();
-    delete process.env.VP_SKIP_INSTALL;
+    vi.stubEnv('VP_SKIP_INSTALL', undefined);
+    vi.stubEnv('VP_CLI_BIN', undefined);
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => vi.unstubAllEnvs());
+
+  it('preserves an explicit VP_CLI_BIN override and its arguments', async () => {
+    vi.stubEnv('VP_CLI_BIN', '/custom/vp');
+    mockRun.mockResolvedValue(installResult(0));
+    await runViteInstall('/project', false, ['--offline'], { silent: true });
+    expect(mockRun).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.objectContaining({ command: '/custom/vp', args: ['install', '--offline'] }),
+    );
   });
 
   it('treats pnpm >= 11 ERR_PNPM_IGNORED_BUILDS exit-1 as a completed install', async () => {
@@ -38,7 +51,9 @@ describe('runViteInstall with detectIgnoredBuilds', () => {
     expect(summary.pendingBuilds).toEqual(['better-sqlite3', 'esbuild']);
     // Detection mode must NOT add --ignore-scripts (that would hide the builds
     // from `approve-builds` afterwards).
-    expect(mockRun).toHaveBeenCalledWith(expect.objectContaining({ args: ['install'] }));
+    expect(mockRun).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.objectContaining({ command: process.execPath, args: [expect.any(String), 'install'] }),
+    );
   });
 
   it('still reports a genuine non-zero exit (no ignored-builds error) as failed', async () => {
@@ -74,7 +89,7 @@ describe('runViteInstall with detectIgnoredBuilds', () => {
     expect(summary.status).toBe('installed');
     expect(summary.pendingBuilds).toBeUndefined();
     expect(mockRun).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
-      expect.objectContaining({ args: ['install', '--ignore-scripts'] }),
+      expect.objectContaining({ args: [expect.any(String), 'install', '--ignore-scripts'] }),
     );
   });
 });
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/utils/approve-builds.ts b/packages/cli/src/utils/approve-builds.ts
index 351c1a52b9..6d9b18c37d 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/utils/approve-builds.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/utils/approve-builds.ts
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import { stripVTControlCharacters } from 'node:util';
 import * as prompts from '@voidzero-dev/vite-plus-prompts';
 
 import { PackageManager } from '../types/index.ts';
-import { runCommandSilently } from './command.ts';
+import { getVpCommand, runCommandSilently } from './command.ts';
 import { readJsonFile, writeJsonFile } from './json.ts';
 import { getSilentSpinner, getSpinner } from './spinner.ts';
 import { accent } from './terminal.ts';
@@ -360,8 +360,7 @@ export async function detectGatedBuilds(
   }
   if (packageManager === PackageManager.bun) {
     const { exitCode, stdout, stderr } = await runCommandSilently({
-      command: process.env.VP_CLI_BIN ?? 'vp',
-      args: ['exec', 'bun', 'pm', 'untrusted'],
+      ...getVpCommand(['exec', 'bun', 'pm', 'untrusted']),
       cwd: installCwd,
       envs: process.env,
     });
@@ -425,8 +424,7 @@ async function runBuildAndReport(
   const spinner = silent ? getSilentSpinner() : getSpinner(interactive);
   spinner.start(`Building ${packages.join(', ')}...`);
   const { exitCode, stdout, stderr } = await runCommandSilently({
-    command: process.env.VP_CLI_BIN ?? 'vp',
-    args,
+    ...getVpCommand(args),
     cwd,
     envs: extraEnv ? { ...process.env, ...extraEnv } : process.env,
   });
@@ -462,8 +460,7 @@ async function approveNpmScripts(
 ): Promise<boolean> {
   const approveCommand = `vp pm approve-builds ${packages.join(' ')}`;
   const { exitCode, stdout, stderr } = await runCommandSilently({
-    command: process.env.VP_CLI_BIN ?? 'vp',
-    args: ['pm', 'approve-builds', ...packages],
+    ...getVpCommand(['pm', 'approve-builds', ...packages]),
     cwd: installCwd,
     envs: process.env,
   });
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/utils/command.ts b/packages/cli/src/utils/command.ts
index 43d290d999..1a5543f0f5 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/utils/command.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/utils/command.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import { constants } from 'node:os';
+import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url';
 
 import spawn from 'cross-spawn';
 
@@ -23,6 +24,20 @@ export interface RunCommandResult extends ExecutionResult {
   stderr: Buffer;
 }
 
+/** Run this CLI version even when a package-manager launcher does not expose `vp` on PATH. */
+export function getVpCommand(
+  args: string[],
+  command = process.env.VP_CLI_BIN,
+): Pick<RunCommandOptions, 'command' | 'args'> {
+  if (command !== undefined) {
+    return { command, args };
+  }
+  return {
+    command: process.execPath,
+    args: [fileURLToPath(import.meta.resolve('vite-plus/bin')), ...args],
+  };
+}
+
 export function exitCodeFromClose(code: number | null, signal: NodeJS.Signals | null) {
   if (code !== null) {
     return code;
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/utils/prompts.ts b/packages/cli/src/utils/prompts.ts
index 2350798a36..95a9f5900d 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/utils/prompts.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/utils/prompts.ts
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import { coerce, isGreaterThanOrEqual } from 'verkit';
 import { downloadPackageManager as downloadPackageManagerBinding } from '../../binding/index.js';
 import { PackageManager } from '../types/index.ts';
 import { isPnpmIgnoredBuildsError, parseInstallGatedBuilds } from './approve-builds.ts';
-import { runCommandSilently } from './command.ts';
+import { getVpCommand, runCommandSilently } from './command.ts';
 import { reconcilePreviewBridgeRegistry } from './preview-registry.ts';
 import { getSilentSpinner, getSpinner } from './spinner.ts';
 import { accent } from './terminal.ts';
@@ -145,8 +145,7 @@ export async function runViteInstall(
   const startTime = Date.now();
   spinner.start(`Installing dependencies...`);
   const { exitCode, stderr, stdout } = await runCommandSilently({
-    command: process.env.VP_CLI_BIN ?? 'vp',
-    args: ['install', ...installArgs],
+    ...getVpCommand(['install', ...installArgs]),
     cwd,
     envs: process.env,
   });
@@ -191,8 +190,7 @@ export async function runViteFmt(
   spinner.start(`Formatting code...`);
 
   const { exitCode, stderr, stdout } = await runCommandSilently({
-    command: options?.command ?? process.env.VP_CLI_BIN ?? 'vp',
-    args: [...(options?.commandArgs ?? []), 'fmt', ...(paths ?? [])],
+    ...getVpCommand([...(options?.commandArgs ?? []), 'fmt', ...(paths ?? [])], options?.command),
     cwd,
     envs: process.env,
   });
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/utils/tsconfig.ts b/packages/cli/src/utils/tsconfig.ts
index d952120a3d..6da34c4b73 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/utils/tsconfig.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/utils/tsconfig.ts
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ import * as prompts from '@voidzero-dev/vite-plus-prompts';
 import { applyEdits, modify, parse as parseJsonc } from 'jsonc-parser';
 
 import vitestV5EntryPoints from '../vitest-v5-entry-points.json' with { type: 'json' };
-import { runCommandSilently } from './command.ts';
+import { getVpCommand, runCommandSilently } from './command.ts';
 import { BASEURL_TSCONFIG_FIX_PACKAGE, createBaseUrlTsconfigFixArgs } from './constants.ts';
 import { cancelAndExit } from './prompts.ts';
 
@@ -103,8 +103,7 @@ export async function fixBaseUrlInTsconfig(
         prompts.log.info(`Running vp dlx ${BASEURL_TSCONFIG_FIX_PACKAGE} ${fixArgs.join(' ')}`);
       }
       const result = await runCommandSilently({
-        command: process.env.VP_CLI_BIN ?? 'vp',
-        args: ['dlx', BASEURL_TSCONFIG_FIX_PACKAGE, ...fixArgs],
+        ...getVpCommand(['dlx', BASEURL_TSCONFIG_FIX_PACKAGE, ...fixArgs]),
         cwd: projectPath,
         envs: process.env,
       });